Wire stretcher



Dec. 1924- 1,520,841

F. Musso WIRE STRETCHER Filed Aug. 1, 1924 gwuwntoz I I 61mm;

Patented Dec. 30, 1924.

rAUs'roMUss or Nnwcas'rLnwYor/invd f WIRE srnn'rcrrnn. r

' Applicationfiled August 1, 1924. j serial No. 729,553[

To all whom it may COHOGWL. Be it known that I, FAUSTO MUsso, a citizenof the United States, residing at Newcastle, in the county of Weston andState'of Wyoming, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inire Stretchers,of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved wire stretching device, which isadapted for drawing fence wire, such as barbed wire, so that it will berendered extremely taut,

- before it is fastened to the fence posts.

One feature. of the invention is the provision of a rotary hand crankwhich is provided with a portion. constituting a drum, upon which oneend of an anchored pull wire is wound, when the crank is rotated.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of anovel device forconnectingthe free-end of the fence wire to the so-called drum, so thatduring the longitudinal travel of the latter, during its rotation, anendwise pull will beexerted on the fence wire, to render the latterextremely taut before it is nailed to the posts.

The numerous other features and their resultant advantages will. becomeapparent during the following description and draw mgs.

In the accompanying drawing, formin a part of this application, and inwhich llke numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the improved wire stretcher, showingthe method of using the same.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of an improved connector usedbetween the ends of the pulled wire and the wire to be pulled.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the reference character 1designates a pull wire which is preferably plane. As is cus tomary, oneend of this wire is anchored to any suitable stationary support. Thefence wire, which is to be pulled, is designated by the referencecharacter 2. A barbed wire is shown in the present instance. In order toadapt the fence wire, for use in conjunction with my invention, the freeend is looped, as indicated at 3, and the extremity thereof is wrappedabout the body of the I wire, as indicated at 4:, to maintain the wirein a looped eondltlon.

is before intimated, an improved connector, which'is generally indicatedby thereference character 5, is'used in conjunction with-the fence wire2,being"more specifically adapted to be associated with the-100 33. Thisconnector, by preference, comprises a fiat strip of metal, which has oneend d-irected laterally and then bent to form'a seat, for, the bi'ghtportion of the. wire loop 3. The bent'end ofthe strip is bifurcated, at6, thus forming a pair of hooks 7, which constitute the. aforesaidseat.The edges ofthe -hooks are notched as at 8, andthe: opposed stretches oftheiwire looppass therethrough to assist in maintaining the wire inplace.

As seen more clearly in Figure a gradual bend of the metal strip ismade, so' that :a 7

bearing surface 9 is provided atthe juncture of the laterally directedportion and the body portion of the-strip; The opposite end of thestrip, which is preferably reduced in width is directed laterallydownward, as

at 1O,v and the 'free extremity thereof is brought. toa point, and thispoint is-bentto provide an additional hook 11. This hook 11 is, as seenin Figure 1, adapted to be connected to the wrapped portion of the fencew1re.

A hand crank 12 is provided, and the long arm of this crank carries alaterally directed cylindrical portion, which functions as a drum 134This drum 13 is provided intermediate its ends with a hole 14, and inpractice, one end of the pull wire 1 is inserted into this hole. Thedrum under the action of the hand crank is adapted to be rotated in thedirection of the arrow A, it being obvious that during the rotation, theportion of the pull wire attached to the drum will be wound on thelatter, as indicated at 15.

In operation, the free end of the pull wire 1 is inserted though theopening 14 in the drum 13, and a turn is made in the direction of thearrow to provide at least one wrapping of the. wire about the. drum, toinsure effective starting of the winding operation. Assuming that thefence Wire has been looped, as. before stated, this loop is connectedwith the member 5, as indicated in Figure 1. In this position, themember 5 is disposed vertically, and the hook 11 on the depending end isconnected with the wrapped portion of the wire. It is with thisarrangement that the member 5 is maintained in a truly horizontal.plane, during the operation of the device. It will.

also be ,observechthat when the parts. are in operative position asshown, {the- Wrapped end of the Wire 1 has that portion adjacent theWrapping extended between the furcations 6. Furthermore, the so calleddrum is seated for rotation against the curved hear ing surface 9.Moreover, the drum 18 is placed in position before thebi-ght-portion ofthe loop 3 is engaged With the hooks 7. Thus, the Wire loop is disposedin ,a -1nanner, to maintain the drum in its seat or hearing. lVitlrtheparts in this position,

it is obvious that Icy-grasping thecrank 11Q, .and=,rotating it in thedirection of the arrow A, the ends of the Wire 1 will be vWound. uponthe drum. -As the latter is connected .Withthe member 5, it is-obviousthatduring the longitudinal travel of the drum, alongitudinal. pull willbe exerted, .upon the fence Wire 2, through the mediumof themember 5;The fence Wire isthus zdraWn-tautly s0 that it can be nailed to the 7Therefore, a more lengthy description is deemed unnecessary.

While I "have, shown and describeda specificembodiment of the invention,it is'to lie-understood that minor changes coming Within the scope ofthe iadjoined claim may be resorted to, if desired.

I claim:

In a Wire stretching device, a connector in the form of a strip, ofmetal having one end directed laterally downward and havingitsextremitybent to form a hook, the

opposite end of the strip being bent laterally in a horizontal plane andsaid last named bent end being bifurcated and the extremities of, theVfurcations' being bent to provide'a pair of spaced hooks, the bend.extending between said horizontally bent ends'and the-body portion ofthe strip constituting a bearing seat, a bent Wire having .oneiendlooped, the bight portion of said loop being seated in said spaced hooksand :the twisted portion of the loop being en- Wgaged with the firstnamed hook,a separate and independent hand crank having alateralcylindrical extension functioning as a drum, said drum beingseated for rotation in .said :bearing seat and being partially held inplace by said Wire loop, and a pull wireextending between saidfurcations and :attached' to. said drum to be Wound upon the latter.

1:. In testimony whereof :I afiix my signature.

- .FAUSTO MUSSO.

